Swinging off the big screen and flexing all kinds of sweaty muscles, “The Legend of Tarzan” is an able and exciting summer blockbuster entry just in time for the holiday weekend. Former “Harry Potter” franchise steward David Yates has packed enough sweep and scope for high adventure while employing enough modern bells and whistles to launch the pulp character further than ever before on the silver screen. With stunning production pieces, wallet-worthy 3D, buff bods, beautiful people, and a bevy of carnal excitement, this newfangled interpretation delivers a throwback experience of intensity and thrills fitting for the classic hero.

MOVIE REVIEW: The BFG

Faithful and imaginative as “The BFG” may be, the proceedings lack contagious inspiration that should come from a film of this intended caliber. Other than “whizpopper” humor, the slivers of cuteness present are ineffectual and the intended themes on dreams are lost in yawns. The silliness misses any chance at meaning. The film is too ridiculous to be approachable and too bizarre to be endearing. Meet Steven Spielberg's worst film.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Shallows

“The Shallows” gives Blake Lively the chance to not only prove she’s more than a Hollywood hot body, but also one-up her husband Ryan Reynolds in survival film department next to his little 2010 gem “Buried.” Prominent click bait out there will have you believe that “The Shallows” is the best shark movie since “Jaws.” That bold statement is a bit of overrated hyperbole. “Open Water” and “Deep Blue Sea” might have something to say about that. However, there more than enough impressive rush and originality from “The Shallows” to stand out in a crowded summer marketplace of retreads and sequels.

MOVIE REVIEW: Independence Day: Resurgence

The advent of computer-generated visual effects in the 1990s raised the scope of what and how much disaster movies could destroy on screen. No better film encapsulated that new era than the raucous and wildly successful “Independence Day” from 1996 with aliens laying waste to world monuments and making a star out of Will Smith. In the twenty years since, the evolution of CGI filmmaking of bigger and more opulent destruction has elevated the craft to the moniker of “disaster porn.” Returning with the grand ambitious sequel “Independence Day: Resurgence,” the former standard-bearer enters a present day where audiences have been desensitized by asteroids, comets, natural disasters, monsters, Transformers, and superheroes dozens of times over. What was awesome the first time isn’t jaw-dropping anymore.

MOVIE REVIEW: Free State of Jones

Since Hollywood has become a hit-generating factory more than a garden of artistry and truth, a historical drama film like “Free State of Jones” only has to raise its barometer to a midpoint of “good enough.” That is because there is nearly unwinnable tug-of-war of disservice between history lessons and entertainment value, especially when your poster reads “based on a true story.” Veer away from the facts too far with dramatic license and the film becomes disingenuous. Veer too close to history without cinematic flashiness and no one will pay to see it. “Free State of Jones” falls somewhere in the middle of that mud pit.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Wait (L'attesa)

The award-winning Juliette Binoche is one of those actresses who can captivate an audience in complete silence. Binoche has long been a reflective master of inflection and nuance. She doesn’t have to say a word to convey the waterfall of thoughts an end emotions going on within her characters. She is a true artist for performance and the latest proof of that is her staggering dramatic role in “The Wait,” the directorial debut of Italian filmmaker Piero Messina.

MOVIE REVIEW: The American Side

There's room for film noir that can inhabit real places and plausible people while still having all the necessary ingredients to make them as cool as the genre demands. With a deep homage to noir coupled with a big dose of 1970's-esque conspiracy thrillers, director Jenna Ricker, in her second feature film, presents "The American Side" starring her Greg Stuhr and a notable ensemble cast. Using upstate New York, Ricker has created a living and breathing seedy side out a wholesome American city and tourist destination. As a film, "The American Side" is satisfying and a constantly engaging throwback detective story that surpasses its glitzy and more expensive Hollywood peer "The Nice Guys."

VIDEO: Meet the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle!

The Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle held its first official meet-and-greet at the Music Box Theatre Lounge. As one of the co-founders and co-directors of the CIFCC, it was nice to have our group come together first time. Here's a quick video shot by Pamela Powell of Reel Honest Reviews. Put faces with names as our members introduce themselves!

VIDEO: Post-film reactions to "Finding Dory"

This week, I joined my fellow members of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle for an advance screening of Disney/Pixar's "Finding Dory." I am proud to be a co-founder and co-director of this fine group. We all took away a bunch of heart and love from the "Finding Nemo" sequel. Enjoy the first takes of yours truly, Gabrielle Bondi of The Young Folks, and Emmanuel Noisette of Eman's Movie Reviews!

MOVIE REVIEW: Finding Dory

Unless the title begins with "Toy Story," Disney/Pixar has not had very good luck with effective sequels. "Cars 2" aimed too high for a bigger international stage and "Monsters University" failed as a bonding origin story prequel. Thirteen years after the original, "Finding Dory" changes that weak trend with a winning flourish. Teeming with plenty of vibrant energy and anchored by Pixar's signature punch of finely tuned emotional storytelling, this sequel will delight audiences young and old and earns its mature place as a companion piece to the classic "Finding Nemo."

MOVIE REVIEW: Warcraft

Here's the worst part of what "Warcraft" tries to execute. With its riffs on exotic worlds, magic, warring factions, and monstrous creatures, it fashions its to be high fantasy and epic spectacle right there with "The Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars." Universal Pictures thinks it is sitting on a crossover franchise that will sells merchandise and recruit new gamers by the millions. You cannot make the bizarre endearing without substance behind it.

MOVIE REVIEW: Sunset Song

Beloved in its homeland of Scotland, Lewis Grassic Gibbon's 1932 novel "Sunset Song" is revered for its detailed and poignant tale of peasant life and the place of women during the transitional times of the early 20th century. The novel has been a long-gestating passion project for highly regarded British filmmaker Terence Davies. Brought to life with moments of 65mm grandeur, his sumptuously crafted and carefully refined film adaptation is another jewel in the filmmaker's crown, though one not without its source material's difficulties.

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

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